FoxNews.com reports that Dr. Richard B. Hoover, an astrobiologist at NASA,
believes that he has found the fossils of bacteria in meteorites. In other
words, he claims to have found traces of life from outer space.

Not surprisingly, his claim is controversial; many scientists do not accept
that Dr. Hoover has come to the correct conclusion from what he has observed.
Therefore, he has invited over 5,000 scientists to review his work and to publish
their comments.

1. Bacteria are a form of life (d).

a. group of scientists
b. place where meteors come from
c. kind of restaurantd. form of life

2. When something is controversial, people have strong
disagreements about it (c).

a. get sick from it
b. believe it is ancient and extremely rarec. have strong
disagreements about it
d. brush their teeth with it

3. Dr. Hoover seems confident that his research will be proven correct because he
has invited many scientists to look closely at his work (b).

a. he is named after a vacuum cleanerb. he has invited many
scientists to look closely at his work
c. he works for NASA
d. he gets a rash when he touches meteorites

4. Based on the reading selection, which statement is true? - Dr.
Hoover believes he has found fossils of bacteria (c).

a. No one believes that Dr. Hoover has made an important discovery.
b. Astrobiologists are smarter than other scientists.c. Dr. Hoover believes
he has found fossils of bacteria.
d. Dr. Hoover did his work without using a microscope.

09/26/2010
Word
Meanings From Context *(Where Monsters Can Grow?)

Reading Comprehension

Name: José R. Romero Velázquez

Date: December 6, 2015rhlschool.com

Word
Meanings From Context

Use
the context to help you determine the meaning of each highlighted word.

1.
No matter where you go, the Internet is following you. Almost every portable
device is being made with an Internet connection. Most new TVs and many other
appliances come with Internet connections as well. The Internet is
truly ubiquitous.

If
something is ubiquitous, it
is everywhere (b).

a.
it is fuzzy and will bite youb. it is everywhere
c. it costs too much money
d. it causes rashes

2. Speaking
rudely to the judges was rash behavior. You really hurt your
chances of winning!

In
the above context, what does “rash” mean? - with little thought or
consideration (d).

a.
an itchy skin condition
b. funny
c. trying to hide or disguise a piece of cheesed. with
little thought or consideration

3. Some
people are always bashing the president just like others
bashed the one before him. Wouldn't you think that everyone could find
something to praise him for, at least once in a while?

What
does “bashing” mean in the above selection? - speaking or writing
harshly about (c).

a.
hitting hard with a heavy tool
b. going to too many expensive partiesc. speaking or writing
harshly about
d. voting for a different candidate

4.
Wherever he goes, the esteemed Dr. Sanchez is applauded for
his life saving research.

What
does “esteemed” mean? - greatly admired (d).

a.
held over boiling water
b. very old
c. unable to chew gumd. greatly admired

Reading Comprehension

Name: José R. Romero Velázquez

Date: December 6, 2015rhlschool.com

Quotations

See
if you can answer the following questions about the meanings of quotations.

1.
“Acting is all about honesty. If you can fake that, you've got it
made.” George Burns

Burns
was saying that he
is honest (a).

A. saying that he is honest
B. angry about what actors do
C. a fake
D. making a joke

5. “An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.”
Mohandas Gandhi

Which
statement or quote is similar to the above quote? - Actions speak louder than words (b).

A. The
pen is mightier than the sword.” Edward Bulwer-LyttonB. Actions speak louder
than words.
C. Practice makes perfect.
D. “Courtesy is as much a mark of a gentleman as courage.” Theodore
Roosevelt

Reading Comprehension

Name: José R. Romero Velázquez

Date: December 6,2015rhlschool.com

Word
Meanings From Context

Use
the context to help you determine the meaning of each highlighted word.

1.
Your cousin claimed to be late because the doors of his house were frozen
shut. Even though I have my doubts, his explanation is plausible.
It got really cold last night. I'll just have to take his word for it.

If
a statement is plausible, it's believable enough to possibly be true (d).

a.
you must always believe it
b. you should never believe it
c. it's hard to understand because it makes no sensed. it's believable enough
to possibly be true

2.
If you don't curtail your spending, you'll be broke in no time
at all!

Which
word is a synonym of "curtail"? – reduce (a).

a. reduce
b. follow
c. behind
d. buy

3.
No word must ever leak out about this military action! It has to be a clandestine operation
in order to succeed.

Which
word is a synonym of "clandestine"? – secret (d).

a.
family
b. useful
c. dangerousd. secret

4.
Put this medicine on your arm and rub it into your skin until it's invisible.
It will inhibit the infection's attempt to spread.

What
does “inhibit” mean? - block or slow down (b)

a.
live in a certain placeb. block or slow down
c. itch or burn
d. help to do something important

Reading Comprehension

Name: José R. Romero Velázquez

Date: December 6, 2015rhlschool.com

Mr. El and the Princess

“You should try one of these sundaes,” said
Mr. Smitty.
Miss Joan nodded in agreement.“I’ll get around to it,” Mr. El replied as he
looked across the large Dairy Center tent. The three teachers were at their
school’s Back to School Fair. It had grown into a major annual event, sort of a
mini county fair.“What are you staring at, Mr. El?” asked Miss
Joan.“I think I’ll stroll over there and talk to
the County Dairy Princess,” Mr. El replied.“She is beautiful,” Mr. Smitty remarked.“I hadn’t noticed,” said Mr. El, trying not
to smile.
Miss Joan rolled her eyes.“Actually, my interest in her is purely
professional,” Mr. El stated. “I might learn something about the dairy industry
that I can share with my fourth graders.”Mr. Smitty broke in, “Besides, he likes that
new resource teacher, Miss Cheryl.”“Miss Cheryl is kind of
cute,” Mr. El admitted. “I like the way her eyes cross when she’s annoyed.”“Why is it that you know how everyone looks
when they’re annoyed?” Miss Joan asked.Mr. El chose to ignore the question. “I’ll be
right back,” he said as he walked toward the dairy princess.Miss Joan and Mr. Smitty relaxed on a bench
as they enjoyed their sundaes and watched Mr. El approach the princess.Mr. El and the young lady seemed to be having
a pleasant conversation when suddenly the princess walked away with a much less
than pleasant expression on her face.When Mr. El rejoined his friends, Miss Joan
could not contain herself. “I’d give a million dollars to know what you said to
her!” she exclaimed.“You don’t have a million dollars,” Mr. El
responded.“I’ll buy you one of these giant hot fudge
sundaes for the story,” Mr. Smitty proposed.“Deal!” said Mr. El. “I was asking her what
qualities the judges look for in choosing a dairy princess.”“And?” Miss Joan demanded.“Well it just goes to prove that a sense of
humor isn’t one of the requirements,” Mr. El replied.“What did you say?” Miss Joan asked with that
“What terrible thing have you done?” look that she did so well.“Just to add a little levity to the
conversation,” Mr. El went on, “I asked her if looking like a cow was one
consideration.”“You did what?!” Miss Joan practically
screamed.“I think this is worth a double hot fudge
sundae!” Mr. Smitty announced.“I thought she’d know I was kidding,” Mr. El
stated. “I say stuff like that to my students all the time and they know
I’m kidding.”“That’s because they’ve learned not to take
you seriously,” Miss Joan said.“Well this girl, who’s at least twice the age
of my fourth graders, ought to know that she doesn’t look anything like a cow.
You can’t win a competition to be a princess of any kind without knowing that
you’re smart and good looking.”“Maybe she thinks that you think that she
looks like a cow,” Mr. Smitty offered.“Why would she care?” Mr. El countered.“Good question,”said Miss Joan. “But don’t
you see the damage you’ve done?” she added.“Damage, what damage?” asked Mr. El.“Up until today she was a self-confident
young woman, destined for greatness. She might have become a scientist whose
inventions would have saved millions of lives. She might have gone on to be a
great leader who would bring peace and prosperity to the whole world!” Miss
Joan paused to catch her breath. “But now,” she continued, “she’ll spend the
rest of her miserable existence hiding her face. She’ll live her entire life
wearing a character costume at some amusement park so that no one will ever
gaze upon her cowlike features! And needless to say, she’ll never save the
world!”“You could just go over there and apologize,”
Mr. Smitty suggested.“That might just make things worse,” said Mr.
El. “In a few minutes she’ll forget I exist; she’ll forget what I said, and she
can go on to save the world.”“I’ll have my sundae now,” Mr. El reminded
Mr. Smitty. “Didn’t I hear ‘double hot fudge’?”As Mr. Smitty walked off to buy the sundae,
Mr. Kay, the principal, came by. “Mr. El,” he said, “I have a nice surprise for
you. I’ve lined up your student teacher for this fall. Her name is Miss Lee.
She’s already a very accomplished young lady. In fact, you may have noticed her
at the fair.”“She’s here? I’d like to meet her,” said Mr.
El.“That’s her over there,” Mr. Kay said. “She’s
wearing that shiny little crown.”“You mean that Dairy Princess crown?” asked
Mr. El.“That’s her,” said Mr. Kay.Miss Joan, who couldn’t help hearing the
conversation, had a broad smile on her face. Mr. El was not smiling.“Excuse me,” said Mr. El, “I have to rush to
my room and prepare a lesson plan!”“A lesson plan?” asked the principal.“Yes,” sighed Mr. El, “A lesson about
thinking before speaking.”

For
Discussion:

1. What lesson did Mr. El learn from his experience?

That’s so wrong but still a funny story! Obviously Mr.
El learned that he has to think first and think well before talking to someone
he met for the first time. They don’t
know each other, so he wasn’t supposed to make jokes that can hurt the feelings
of the others person. He learned the hard way, because at the end they will
spend the whole school year in the same classroom.

2. Can you think of any examples of someone making a
similar mistake?

Of course I can think in an example. I worked as a
sale person for 25 years or so, and I also taught and supervised other people
who wanted to become sales person. You
can’t ask a lady that looks old to you, with a kid by her side, if he or she is
her grandson or granddaughter. Maybe he or she is her son or daughter. She will
think you are telling her she looks older than she really is. I also had the
experience that one of my students, asked a lady if the guy that was with her
that day, was her son, and he was her husband.

3. Do you think that it’s always possible to know how
someone will react to something you say?

Not always, you will know how people
will react to something you say. Some weeks ago, my English teacher was talking
about, when a student are sick and coughing how they shouldn’t be in the
classroom or at least, sit in the back, so others don’t get sick. The funny
part is that one of my classmates got so angry that started arguing with my
English teacher, and then she left the classroom and never came back. I swear it
really happened. For me that was the funniest thing I’ve seen in my college
years.